Illnesses to wicketkeeper Tim Paine and bowler Josh Hazlewood have opened the door for a pair of one-day international debuts against England at the Gabba on Friday.
Hazlewood has been sent home to Sydney to recover from a virus, while Paine continued to struggle with gastro at training on Thursday and isn’t certain of starting.
After a maiden Big Bash hundred for the Adelaide Strikers on Wednesday night, wicketkeeper Alex Carey has been flown into camp as Australia look to level the five-match series at 1-1.
Rested from the series-opening loss on Sunday, Hazlewood was set to replace Pat Cummins before he got sick.
Already with the squad, Jhye Richardson is tipped to make his ODI debut alongside second-gamer Andrew Tye and Mitchell Starc.
English bowler James Anderson, who has retired from short-form international cricket, ridiculed the depth in Australia’s bowling stocks during the Test series.
Australian opener Aaron Finch said it would be a chance for the side to prove that wrong in the absence of Australia’s highest-ranked ODI bowler Hazlewood and leading Ashes wicket-taker Cummins.
“Absolutely; AJ (Tye) making his debut bowled beautifully in a pretty difficult time when Jason Roy was on fire and Joe Root was playing well,” Finch said.
“The way he held his nerve was really impressive in that middle part.
“He (Richardson) can bowl fast, he can swing it, has got a couple of variations of slower balls, he’s someone who thinks about his bowling quite a bit for such a young guy who has that raw pace,” Finch said.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of depth at all.”
Carey will join the squad on Thursday and Finch backed him to continue his good form if rewarded with a first international cap.
“To come out this year when there was a lot of talk about the Ashes keeping spot and who’s going to play, the way he put his hand up and has continued to do so for such a young guy is really impressive,” Finch said.
“It (illness) does cause a little bit of angst among the group; it causes separation because guys don’t want to hang around each other anymore in case they are spreading it on.
“But the guys that are there to come in and potentially take their spot if they need are in great form if they need.”
dan ced
Guest
Carey got a couple of decent scores in JLT cup, and has shown he can grind out innings when the going gets tough in shield. It's his keeping that seems to be head and shoulders above the rest, from what I've seen.
jameswm
Guest
Which one is that? The 122, the 99 or the 96?
AREH
Roar Guru
I think BG means switching M.Marsh and Paine in the batting order, and I think it makes sense. 7 seems almost an ideal spot for Marsh to come in with big hitting in the late overs.
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
Don't ask Langer. he'd be unbiased. But Sam Whiteman springs to mind.Uninjured , he's an Australian top three wicketkeeper,but he's only returned to batting at the moment.Or Cam Bancroft who's made 50 dismissals in short-form cricket for WA
Jermayn
Guest
Who keeps wickets?
BurgyGreen
Guest
Maybe it's as easy as swapping M. Marsh and Paine. Worth a go I reckon.
AREH
Roar Guru
If Paine plays in the 50-over team for the longer term, he needs to go up the order where he has played most of his short-form cricket, or not be in the team at all. He is far better at nudging the ball around in the middle overs than he is at going hard from ball one in overs 40-50.
JB
Guest
Surely there is another West Australian who can replace Paine. Doesn't have to be a wicketkeeper, any WA player will be better than any other possible choice - just ask Langer.
Jermayn
Guest
Agree Carey gives us explosiveness in the middle which Paine doesn't. S Marsh is wrong side of 30 and would rather Head grow into the role for the Wold Cup in England where his off spin gives us another option.
BurgyGreen
Guest
I think our strongest ODI side has SMarsh in place of Head, and as much as I like Paine, Carey with the gloves. If everyone was fit, I'd be playing this side: 1. Warner 2. Finch 3. Smith 4. S. Marsh 5. M. Marsh 6. Stoinis 7. Carey 8. Cummins 9. Starc 10. Hazlewood 11. Zampa I'm willing to give Zampa a bit more rope but someone like Fawad or Lyon might need to come in soonish.
Jermayn
Guest
Handscomb can be a bit slow with his strike rate but he does provide stability which you do not necessary get with M Marsh, Stonis and Head if you get into trouble. The other area I think we struggle with is closing out the innings with quick runs in the last 5 odd overs
Mike Dugg
Guest
He has an average in one dayers that's even lower than his first class average. This is nearly as crazy as people wanting Darcy Short in the side based on one innings in the big bash
jameswm
Guest
I can't see how Paine fits in. He hasn't got the game to bat at 7, and isn't needed at opener where he could do ok. I'd play Carey at 7 who has shown he can hit it around, or Handscomb and bat him at 4. He's a good 50-over batsman.